All together now: Agnor-Hurt is uniting kids, K through 5, in one joyful space
“How do we treat children with as much respect as we treat adults?” That was one of the primary questions driving the design of an addition to Agnor-Hurt Elementary, an Albemarle County public school, last year. Camilo Bearman, the Stantec architect who led the project, loved reaching for that lofty goal. “It’s inspiring as a […]
On a grand scale: A Jim Tuley house takes a broad view
In houses, so much depends on scale. A room that feels big in one house will seem cramped in another; furniture seems to shrink or expand depending on where it’s placed. On a hilltop in Ivy is a home that reaches toward the maximal end of the scale. Inside and out, it feels larger than […]
Bigger and brighter: An Albemarle kitchen lets in the light
Even though Jeannean Carver has lived in her house since 1998, she never had a chance to figure out how to redo her kitchen. A busy pediatrician, she spent years putting off a real renovation, instead making only a few small changes. “I work a lot,” she says. “I didn’t have time to look for […]
Simply beautiful: Making the most of a modest Staunton home
It was an exercise in moderation when Dennis and Ingrid Blanton chose their house in Staunton’s historic Newtown neighborhood. New to the area, freshly arrived from two years in Costa Rica, they began house-shopping and were tempted by some sizable homes. But, says Ingrid, “We wanted to simplify our lives.” At first glance, they’d dismissed […]
Capital improvements: Craftsmanship defines UVA’s Rotunda renovation
A structure as history-soaked as UVA’s Rotunda has many chapters to its story. And, having served as a symbol of the university for nearly 200 years, it’s layered with meaning, too. The Rotunda is currently undergoing a major renovation; much of the exterior will be finished this month, allowing graduates to process around the building during […]
Graceful additions: Built in 1938, Credenhill gets respect (and some thoughtful updates)
In a town with more than its share of notable houses, the home of Bebe Heiner and Bill Atwood is a quiet gem. Hidden at the end of a long driveway in Ivy’s Flordon neighborhood, Credenhill—as it was named by its original owners, after their Welsh hometown—embodies a reserved and gracious sensibility. The pleasing proportions […]
Under the oaks: At Credenhill, updates to a Gillette landscape
How to bring many layers of history together in one contemporary garden design? Credenhill, a 1938 home in Ivy, had a bit of a pedigree attached to it, in the person of noted designer Charles Gillette. The challenge for current owners Bebe Heiner and Bill Atwood was to integrate the original Gillette design—along with subsequent […]
Come together: A Faber kitchen opens its arms to family
Meghan Murray’s house is a family home in a couple of different ways. She grew up in this farmhouse in Faber, built by her grandparents in 1942, on land that’s been in her family for a century. So to occupy it now, as she and her family have for the past year, means that the […]
Hi, tech: WillowTree’s new office promotes a friendlier workday
It used to be the place to perform a tree pose in a superheated room. Now, the one-time Bikram Yoga studio on Fifth Street SE is home to a very different kind of workout—the mental gymnastics of the techies at WillowTree Apps. As a fast-growing firm that creates mobile and TV-integrated apps for clients such […]
The book look: City library addition celebrates the written word
Libraries are the repositories not only of books, but of feelings. There’s the love of a good read, of course, but bookworms harbor other associations with libraries, too: discovery, solitude and the satisfaction of working hard. When architect Bruce Wardell and his colleagues were asked to design a library addition for a Charlottesville homeowner, they […]
A bit of earth: How to buy land in the county
If you think “groundbreaking”—as in the physical act—might be one of the more thrilling words in our language, you might need to get in the market for land. Selecting a site where you can build anew, on whichever hilltop you like best, is a welcome adventure. But, like all adventures, it has its share of […]
Playing with form: A Nelson County house makes room for fun
Tom Davidson and Marilyn Mars love to laugh, and their house shows it. When they moved to Nelson County from Florida, they sought a modern dwelling, commissioning Marilyn’s brother Randall Mars, a McLean-based architect, to design it. Though clean lines attracted them, Marilyn says, this house—full of colorful, detailed art and objects—is anything but minimal. […]
Eight sides of efficient: The Octagonal Living Unit redefines small
There’s an enduring appeal to the idea of a compact dwelling that can go up fast—it’s been expressed in everything from the teepee to the mobile home. In the zeitgeist of the moment, it’s the phrase “tiny house” that holds currency. Down in Amherst County, sculptor Craig Pleasants has created his own version of the […]
Love your veggies: A fresh design for a healthy nosh at Roots Natural Kitchen
Alvaro Anspach and Alberto Namnum are passionate about vegetables. Eat mostly fresh veggies and fruits, they believe, and you’ll soon feel more energetic and focused. How are they spreading the gospel? From the pulpit of their restaurant, Roots Natural Kitchen, where they serve salads and grain bowls packed with avocados, broccoli and other super-healthy ingredients. […]
White and warm: Albemarle Cabinet Co. tweaks the standard kitchen
When Kristen Kaylor and her family moved into their new house off Rio Road last November, they didn’t get to make too many choices. The home was a spec house built by Bramante Homes, and much of the kitchen design had already been completed by Amy Hart of Albemarle Cabinet Co. Fortunately, Hart had been careful […]
Brand-new tradition: Greek Revival style in a Keswick four-over-four
Robin and Craig Ellis were searching for the perfect name for their Keswick property when they took a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. A sign directed their gaze across a ravine to a scree field—a place where fragments of rock covered a slope. These pieces, the remnants of a large boulder, are called “talus”: […]
On the waterfront: Lewis & Clark center builds river connections
One can sometimes forget that Charlottesville is a river town, but Alexandria Searls keeps the Rivanna firmly in mind. As director of the Lewis & Clark Exploratory Center, she’s helped influence the choice of its location (overlooking the river in Darden Towe Park) and its mission (educating visitors, especially kids, about boatbuilding and nature-based aspects […]
Into the future: Raising the bar at a ’70s ranch house
This is a full circle kind of story. A couple of years ago, on this very page, we got some advice from local contractor Troy Yancey about renovating an Earlysville ranch house that was then on the market. Troy recommended opening some walls to improve flow, adding a fourth bedroom and a few other fixes. […]
One of a kind: An eccentric Charlottesville house welcomes new owners
Upholstered walls. A bright red hallway. Gilded chandeliers. When Holly and Kevin Davis bought their house in Fry’s Spring in 2012, it was, in an endearing way, over the top. “The house just evoked so much color and charm,” says Kathleen Conroy, a designer with Kenny Ball Design. Along with her colleague, Chloe Ball, she […]
Into the woods: A layered Fluvanna landscape smooths the way from house to forest
When you’re building a new house on a wooded hilltop—a house whose design prioritizes views of the outdoors—the landscape is a crucial piece of the puzzle. From within Ron Harris’ Fluvanna County house, the woodsy surroundings are a constant presence, especially through the south wall, which is made almost entirely of glass. Finished in 2007, […]
From before: As is, one of Albemarle’s oldest houses, Findowrie, is for sale
Often, brand-new houses are dubbed “homes” by real estate agents. That’s an untruth, because if it hasn’t been lived in, it’s nobody’s home. Findowrie, as its atmospheric name would suggest, dwells on the far opposite end of the spectrum. It’s been unoccupied for decades, but nonetheless it’s dripping with habitation, layered with time, all but […]
Fresh start: The Kluges’ palace, Albemarle House, welcomes the public
Talk about a house being great for entertaining. When opulent Albemarle House was built in the early 1980s by Patricia Kluge and her then-husband, media mogul John Kluge, they aimed to create a mansion fit to welcome royals and celebrities. As fate and fortune would have it, 30 years later, the 45-room home has become […]
Another chance to shine: Latitude 38 gives new life to historic materials
It was a kind of magic trick. An old house in Fifeville, sandwiched closely between its neighbors, was demolished to make way for a new, modern dwelling—and presto change-o, the new house reuses and features many of the materials from the old. It’s as though existing DNA was scrambled to create a novel animal. “You […]
Downtown’s movie sequel: Violet Crown Cinema mixes influences
By the time you read this, downtown Charlottesville should have its movie theater back. But it’s not just a matter of reopening the old Regal theater. The new Violet Crown Cinema, which now stands in its place, will be an entirely different animal. “I always think of these places as boutique cinemas: very bespoke, very […]
Out of a picture: In Fluvanna, Oak Grove is a calendar-worthy estate
Rolling drive? Check. Board fencing? Check. You’ve got your mature oaks and boxwoods, your brick façade, your white columns. And, naturally, there is a historical connection to a towering figure of early American history (Patrick “Give Me Liberty” Henry). It doesn’t get much more classic than Oak Grove, a 131-acre estate outside Scottsville. Visiting it […]
The low-key farmhouse: Building a country place that doesn’t ask for much
It’s a long way from old-town Fredericksburg to the rolling hills of Free Union. But after 20 years in a historic house in that Northern Virginia town, one couple was ready for the country life. Their four children mostly grown, they relocated to an old farmhouse in Free Union—where she had grown up—and began looking […]
A vision in bloom: At Waterperry Farm, gardens grow on a grand scale
For anyone confronting a property that’s short on landscaping—and feeling that it’ll be a lifetime before anything substantial can grow—Katherine Kane has reassuring words. “If you get obsessive, you can have a mature garden in 25 years.” She should know. In 1990, when she and her husband, Olin West, bought their Free Union farm, it […]